Hottest baby name trends of 2012

BabyCenter parents looked near and far for baby names in 2012 – from their iPhone to a sexy set of novels to infinity and beyond! As usual, hit TV shows, hot bands, and celebrity babies influenced America's birth certificates. But inspiration for the year's rising baby names wasn't always so obvious.

The name Grey rose 155 spots for boys – an 18 percent gain. The alternate spelling Gray gained 73 places. But it seems moms don't want to make the 50 Shades connection too obvious or draw a direct link to the messed-up protagonist. The name Christian dropped 30 percent on our list. Still, other names from the books saw a boost. Elliot (Christian's brother) jumped 14 percent for boys, and James (the author's last name) rose 22 percent.

For girls, the name Anastasia skipped up 43 spots (a 10 percent increase) and the nickname Ana gained 15 percent. It'll be interesting in a few years when little Anas and Elliots ask where their names came from.

iBabies

The smartphone may be the best parenting tool since diapers, and it seems some moms and dads really, really love one company in particular. The moniker Apple – though still an unusual choice – rose 15 percent for girls, vaulting a whopping 585 spots. For boys, the name Mac jumped 12 percent. And parents like the sound of Siri, Apple's voice-enabled personal assistant: The name climbed 5 percent on the list of girls' names.

Little Girl Blue

BlueIvyCarter, born in January, is already a star – just like her music mogul parents Beyoncé and Jay-Z. So it's no wonder the name Blue shot up 51 percent for girls, gaining an astounding 2,571 places on our top baby names list. It's still a rare pick for BabyCenter moms, however – nowhere near the top 100 or even top 1,000 baby names.

Ivy, on the other hand, is gaining broader appeal: It's up 27 percent and 57 places, landing at spot 157 on our list of top girls' names.

The proud parents' names gained in popularity, too, maybe because we've been hearing so much about them all year (including their efforts to trademark their daughter's unusual name!). Giselle – Beyoncé's middle name – rose by 12 percent. For boys, the name Jay is up 20 percent, and Carter jumped 24 percent.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé were right on trend (of course) when choosing Blue for their firstborn. Color-related names of all sorts are big on BabyCenter's lists, including Violet and Scarlet for girls and Red and Gray/Grey for boys. Could Green, Yellow, and Purple be in the next wave?

Up with Downton (Abbey)

Many of us couldn't tear ourselves away from Downton Abbey, the wildly popular British miniseries chronicling the drama of the aristocratic Crawleys and their servants. So it's no wonder that plenty of parents plucked their baby's name from the Masterpiece Classic hit.

Though rigid class divisions keep the aristocrats from the servants on the show, those social distinctions don't mean much to BabyCenter parents. Names of the household staff proved just as popular as those of the lords and ladies above stairs.

The boys' names Branson and Charlie, and girls' names Elsie and Daisy, had the highest percentage gains of any Downton-related names, rising 32, 23, 29, and 27 percent respectively. This might surprise the handsome chauffeur, dignified butler, humble head housekeeper, and meek kitchen maid. The names William and Thomas (Downton's two footmen) also climbed our popular-names list.

The Crawley family names did well, too. Middle sister Edith vaulted up our list by 254 spots – finally, some good news for the hard-luck sister! Sybil, the sweet youngest, skipped up 606 spots, and Isobel gained 138 (after Isobel Crawley, the strong-willed nurse and mother to heir/heartthrob Matthew). The names Robert and Cora were up, to the credit of the Earl and Countess of Grantham. And though we'd never have the nerve to use her first name, the acid-tongued Dowager Countess Violet was also a hit with parents, who boosted it 10 percent in 2012.

Among the few Downton names to fall in popularity were those of its romantic leads: Matthew and Mary. Perhaps the star-crossed lovers were just too sad to inspire a bump in baby names.

More Brit boom

Not since the Beatles have we seen such excitement over a British boy band – yes, we're talking about you, One Direction. Every scrubbed and adorable member of the quintet triggered a name mini-boom. Liam is number 4 on our list of top 100 boys' names, and Harry is up 57 percent, Louis 25 percent, Niall 26 percent, and Zayn 31 percent.

Victoria and Beckham saw a slight rise in 2012 (after Brit power couple Victoria and DavidBeckham). So did Adele – which is no surprise, considering the London-born singer's sweep of the 2012 Grammys.

More evidence that Britannia is cool among American parents: The name London (for boys) rose 11 percent, and Britain (for girls) rose 10 percent.

Space: the favorite frontier

The heavens felt a little closer in 2012. The Curiosity rover explored Mars, we witnessed a dazzling supermoon, the space shuttle Endeavour made its final flight, and we mourned the deaths of two pioneering astronauts, Sally Ride and Neil Armstrong.

So it's no wonder that new moms and dads gazed skyward when pondering names. For girls, Luna (meaning moon) rose 154 spots, or 47 percent. Stella (meaning star), Star, Skye, Heaven, and Sally also showed significant gains in popularity, though they're still uncommon. (Stella is the only one of these heavenly names to appear on our top 100 baby names list.)

For boys, parents sent Skye, well, skyward. The name was up 953 places, gaining 38 percent in popularity. The alternate spelling Sky also rose on our boys' list, as did Skylar, Leo (a constellation), Mars, and Red (like the red planet).

Funny ladies

There's a lot about Betty White that's unstoppable, including her impact on baby names. The beloved 90-year-old comedienne's presence in films and TV made her name fresh again, sending Betty up 54 percent, or 1,236 spots on our girls' name list.

Moms and dads were also inspired by the new generation of smart, funny women tearing it up on the large and small screen. Amy – which peaked in the '70s – is having a mini-revival thanks to Amy Poehler of Parks and Recreation and Saturday Night Live. While Amy hasn't returned to the top 100 names for girls, it was up by 41 percent.

And there were slight increases in popularity for the girls' names Chelsea (Handler) and Whitney Cummings (of 2 Broke Girls and Whitney).

America's got (baby-naming) talent

You can barely change the channel without running into a celebrity or industry insider summing up an aspiring singer, dancer, or fashion designer. And it turns out some of us are judging the TV judges – on their names, that is – and finding winners.

The greatest judge-related increase, however, was for the name Bruno – as in Bruno (Dancing With the Stars) Tonioli. His name gained 431 spots, or 42 percent, on our boys' list. Fellow judges Carrie (Carrie Ann Inaba) and Leonard (Len Goodman) rose as well.

The phenomenon popped up elsewhere too. Project Runway All Stars judges Isaac (Mizrahi), Joanna (Coles), and Georgina (Chapman) all rose in popularity, as did The Voice coach names Adam (Levine) and Blake (Shelton).

The name of recent American Idol judge Jennifer (Lopez) got a boost, as did that of current judge Nicki (Minaj).

One exception: The names of the America's Got Talent team didn't catch on with new moms and dads. Howie, Howard, Nick, and Sharon all dropped on our popularity lists.

Game on!

The same gamers who worked their Nintendos so hard as teens are grown up and having kids – but they're still inspired by favorite video game characters.

Take the Nintendo classics The Legend of Zelda and Mario Bros. The name Zelda vaulted almost 1,600 spots on our girls' name list in 2012, a whopping 61 percent increase in popularity. Link – also from Zelda – climbed 378 spots, or 18 percent, on our boys' list. And Mario and Daisy from the Mario series jumped a few levels, though they're nowhere near the top 100.

The Resident Evil franchise also spawned some popular baby names in 2012: Valentine, Ada, Brad, Albert, Leon, Barry, and Chris were all up, perhaps because of the latest movie tie-in.

Happily ever after

For fans of fairy-tale fantasy, 2012 offered plenty of juicy options, like the hit show Once Upon a Time. The names of seven of the show's main characters were enchanting enough to rise up the charts: Archie (up 62 percent), Ruby (up 39 percent), Graham (up 22 percent), Regina (up 20 percent), Henry (up 17 percent), Belle (up 16 percent), and August (up 15 percent).

The Pixar princess flick Brave set off a celebration of Scottish names. Hamish (one of heroine Merida's triplet brothers) and Angus (Merida's horse!) were hits for boys, rising a whopping 72 and 38 percent. For girls, moms liked Elinor (after Merida's mum, the Queen), which stepped up three spots. BabyCenter moms didn't take to the name Merida, though. Perhaps the feisty princess's fights with her mother seemed to foretell future conflict.

And though reviews of Snow White and the Huntsman were lackluster, the movie worked some magic on new moms and dads looking for baby names. Moving up on our list were the names of Snow White characters from the movie and the actors who played them, including Charlize (Theron), Kristen (Stewart), Chris (Hemsworth), and the characters Finn and William.

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